Machine for knitting shaggy fabrics



Dec. 8, 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD 2,661,612

MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Filed Oct. 19, 1951 18 Sheets-Sheet 1 fir- ,M

260 llama/v15 fenwmeo,

'7 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

ATTORNEYS 18 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 8, 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Filed Oct. 19, 1951 Dam m m MN 6 l WE M 2 HM v RINI mu 5 M I I EL 3 a II N 4 7 3 A a 5 I M a I z a E I R E E 2 I H l I I, 5 IE. I a i o. I 59-11 a 0 2 .125? 14. 7 B I M 4 ,I a m w 6, 1w 0 7 2 2 a 2 w W m W 4 1 k I 7 9 Y f w m B n m M n z m B I 2 \r a 0 m R I u w my I I I 0 7 A I n 3 9 7 a ZM W m w mm x I Q mm a 0 .v I. I B m M I PL M B I I I m mm L w, v. 2% M R4 J Dec. 8, 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD 2,661,612

MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Filed Oct. 19, 1951 l8 Sheets-Sheet 5 f/mmn/v 15 Omwrow, 1 N VEN TOR ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 8, 1953 Filed on. i9, 1951 H. E. CRAWFORD MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS 18 Sheets-Sheet 4 lllllIIIIlI/I/l/ HnmA/v f. (m WFOAD, IN VENTOR gJmuiel/ ATTORNEYS Dec. 8, 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS 18 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Oct. 19, 1951 HERMAN .5 (RA WFORD,

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 8, 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD 2,661,612

MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Filed OCL. 19, 1951 18 Sheets-Sheet 9 INVENTORZ #MMA/Vf. (m4 WFOAD.

ATTORNEYS.

Deco 8, 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD 2,661,612

MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Filed Oct. 19; 1951 18 Sheets-Sheet 10 HZEMA/V .6 (PA WFOAD, I N VE N TOR BY 1% M ATTORNEYS Dec. 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD 2,651,612

MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Filed Oct. 19, 1951 18 Sheets-Sheet ll Lxw ExToRi Hmm/v (R/IWFURD.

ATTUR NEYS.

Dec. 8, 153 H. CRAWFORD 2,661,612

MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Filed Oct. 19, 1951 18 Sheets-She et 12 Hem/4m 6 CM wFa/ez),

I N VE NTOR FA @we/ ATTORNEYS,

@ee. 8, 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Filed Oct. 19, 1951 18 Sheets-Sheet l3 3 T N0 F W m mm l. mm w E N A mvM m Qv ATTORNEYS.

Dec, 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD 2,561,612

MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Filed Oct. 19, 1951 18 Sheets-Sheet 14 U4 22c 22 1 k f 6 224 22C 224 za; 22: \y L 224 I 22a y A a: 22c x 25 HERMAN f. (IF/7 wFa/w,

INVENTOR;

ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 8, 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD 2,661,612

I MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Filed 001. 19, 1951 1a Sheets-Sheet 15 HERMAN L (IPA wFoim INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD 2,661,612

MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Filed Oct. 19, 1951 18 Sheets-Sheet l6 Qwuwwkw: 1 HERMAN E. R4 WFORD.

Dec. 8, 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD 2,661,612

MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Filed Oct. 19, 1951 18 Sheets-Sheet l7 uvvzmoa: HERMAN f. CRAWFORD.

Dec. 8, 1953 H. E. CRAWFORD MACHINE FOR KNITTING Sl-IAGGY FABRICS l8 Sheets-Sheet l8 Filed Oct. 19, 1951 w MW I}: 5 I I I. 1 I, 1 r I #mMm/f. 0m WFORD,

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 8, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR KNITTING SHAGGY FABRICS Herman E. Crawford, Kernersville, N. 0.

Application October 19, 1951, Serial No. 252,082

9 Claims. 1

This invention relates to circular independent needle knitting machines and more especially to a machine for knitting socks, such as anklets and the like, wherein the fabric knitted has a shaggy texture and appearance which is pleasing to the eye when the top of the sock is formed of this type of fabric and. then turned down upon itself to form a cuff at the upper portion of the anklet. It is the primary object of this invention to provide a circular knitting machine having the usual knitting instrumentalities thereon and, in addition, being provided with a plurality of loop fingers which cooperate with the needles in such a manner as to form enlarged loops from one of at least two yarns employed in knitting a particular sock or stocking, these enlarged loops being anchored or interknitted with the body yarn at spaced intervals so as to cause a single loop to embrace a plurality of wales knitted of the body yarn.

It is another object of this invention to provide a circular independent needle knitting machine having pattern controlled means for knitting courses of normal stitches throughout a portion of a stocking as in the toe, foot, heel and ring heel portions of a stocking and also having pattern controlled means for knitting a ribbed elastic portion of a stocking such as the intermediate portion of the leg thereof and also having means for knitting a top or cuff portion of a stocking wherein an additional yarn, preferably of less twist and of a softer texture than the body yarns of the stocking, is introduced to certain spaced single needles or spaced groups of needles and means being provided for engaging the relatively soft yarn and pulling the same inwardly through the hooks of the needles as they take the yarn and before the needles pass through the stitch cams to thus form enlarged loops on the inner face of the fabric, each of which embraces a plurality of wales formed of the body yarns and whereby the length of the yarn included in each loop is substantially greater than the distance between the points at which the loop is interknitted with the body yarns of the fabric to thus produce a fabric having a shaggy interior which may be included in the top of a stocking and thus may be turned outwardly and downwardly upon itself to form a shaggy cuff on the finished stocking.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the upper portion of a knitting machine showing the improved mechanisms in association therewith, the lower portion of the machine being omitted since the parts thereon are conventional;

Figure 2 is a view with parts broken away looking at the left-hand side of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is another view with parts broken away looking at the right-hand side of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view looking at the rear of the machine or at the opposite side of Figure 1 but omitting the upper portion thereof and showing, in addition, a lower portion of the knitting machine;

Figure 5 is an enlarged top plan view, with parts in section, taken substantially along the line 55 in Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a plan view similar to Figure 5 but showing some of the parts in a different position;

Figure '7 is an enlarged vertical section taken substantially along the line l''! in Figure 2 and showing the loop jack cylinder, the loop jacks and their associated loop fingers in association with the needle cylinder;

Figure 8 is an isometric view of the constrictor ring, shown in the central portion of Figure '7, which assists in guiding the lower portions of the loop fingers after the loops have been formed thereby;

Figure 9 is an isometric view showing the loop jack cylinder removed from the machine and also omitting the loop jacks and the loop jack cam and with the upper portion of the loop jack cylinder being broken away;

Figure 10' is an isometric view showing one of the jacks and the corresponding loop finger removed from the loop jack cylinder;

Figure 11 is an enlarged view looking at the right-hand end of the main pattern drum shown in the lower portion of Figure 4 and showing a part of the means for severing the body yarn and the auxiliary yarn from which the enlarged loops are made; 7

Figure 12 is a vertical sectional view through the main pattern drum showing the arrangement of the second row of circularly arranged cams on the main pattern drum from the right in Figure 4, these cams being instrumental in effecting operation of the elastic yarn feed finger;

Figure 13 is a view similar to Figure 12 but showing the next adjacent or third set of cir cularly arranged cams on the main pattern drum in Figure 3, the particular cams shown being instrumental in controlling the first and second needle lowering cams;

Figure 14 is a view similar to Figure 13 but showing the fourth circularly arranged set of 3 cams on the main pattern drum from the right in Figure 4 for controlling the conventional gap closer;

Figure 15 shows the fifth circularly arrange-cl cam and also showing some of the intervening connections between the main pattern drum and the body yarn feed finger;

Figure 16 is a View similar to the lower portion of Figure 15 showing the sixth set of circularly spaced cams on the main pattern drum shown in Figure 4 on the right-hand end thereof and these cams being instrumental in controlling the cutting and clamping of the elastic yarn;

Figures 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 show the successive sets of circularly arranged cams on the main pattern drum in the lower portion of Figure 4 including the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh sets of cams from the right-hand end of the main pattern drum; 1

Figure 22 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation with parts broken away looking substantially along t -e line 2222 in Figure 5 and showing the particular manner in which the clamping and cutting means for the body yarn and auxiliary or loop yarns are arranged;

Figure 23 is a developed schematic diagram looking at the inner surfaces of the various needle and jack control cams and illustrating the relative positions of the needles and the loop fingers as they move with the needle cylinder;

Figure 24 is a schematic top plan view showing the arrangement of the loop forming fingers relativeto the needles and illustrating the man ner in which the loop yarn is drawn through the hooks of the needles to control the lengths of the enlarged loops;

Figure 25 is a view looking at one side of a stocking such as is manufactured on a knitting machine employing the principles of the present invention and showing the top of the stocking as it is discharged from the machine;

Figure 26 is a side view of the stocking looking at the opposite side from that shown in Figure 25 but showing the top of the stocking turned down to form a cuff thereon;

Figure 27 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation showing the turned-down cuff at the top portion of a stocking and looking at the right-hand end of the upper portion of Figure 26;

Figure 28 is a view looking at the sides of an I adjacent pair of stockings made on a machine embodying the features of the present invention and omitting the bottom portions of a stocking since the portions shown in Figure 28 are the only portions that would normally be visible when the stockings are actually being worn;

Figure 29 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary elevation showing the manner in which the em larged inwardly facing loops are interknitted with the body yarns and this View indicates the substantially along the line 3G3ii in Figure 25.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral l broadly designates the frame of a knitting machinathe particular knitting ma chine shown in the drawings being substantially of a type manufactured by Scott and Williams and commonly known as their Model B- knitting machine. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be associated with any type of circular knitting machine. The frame of the conventional machine includes a vertically disposed standard H. The standard H supports a main base plate I2 which, in turn, supports a substantially circular bed plate #3 from which a the usual sock horn I4 depends.

' dicated at 32.

The standard I i and the base-plate l 2 comprise a part of a conventional housing in which the usual driving mechanisms for the knitting machine are disposed, this driving mechanism being of a type substantially as shown in Scott Patent No. 1,152,850 of November 7, 1915. This driving mechanism includes means for transmitting rotary and reciprocatory motion to a conventional needle cylinder 15, according to a desired pattern, and through an intervening beveled gear [6 fixed on a conventionally driven shaft ll (Figure l) on which a second bevel gear Zil of smaller diameter than thegear ii is also fixedly mounted. This beveled gear is instrumental in driving the usual dial mechanism adapted to be associated with a knitting machine of this type in lieu of which a loop jack cylinder to be later described is adapted to be employed.

As is clearly shown in Figure 7, the needle cylinder i5 is provided with the usual vertically extending circularly spaced grooves 2| in which a plurality of conventional latch needles, generally designated at 22, are mounted for vertical sliding movement, these needles being retained in the grooves 21 by the usual circular springs 23. The latch needles 22 are provided with the usual needle butts M which, as is well known to those familiar with the art, are made in different lengths so that approximately half of the needles are provided with short butts and the other half of the needles are provided with long butts for the well known purpose of knitting the heel and toe pockets of a stocking.

The needles 22 cooperate with conventional sinkers mounted in a sinker head 26 and sinker cap 2? for drawing stitches in the usual manner. Since it is well known that the sinker cap and sinker head must oscillate slightly with reciprocatory movement of the needle cylinder during the knitting of the heel and toe pockets, this sinker cap is held down against the upper portion of the needle cylinder and is supported thereby in a conventional manner. The sinker cap is engaged by a projection or an arm 28 extending from a sinker cap hold down bracket 29 which is irregularly shaped as shown in Figures 2 and 4 and extends downwardly and is suitably secured, as by screws 29a, to the conventional sock horn is.

Certain needles 22 are controlled as to up and down movement through the medium of conventional needle jacks, generally designated at 30, and wherein certain spaced jacks 30 are provided with relatively long butts 3! while the jacks therebetween are provided with short butts in- The length of these butts on the needle jacks 30 are instrumental in determining the needles which shall be elevated adjacent op posed sides of the loop fingers, to be later described, and are considered as parts of the present invention.

It will be observed in Figure 7 that the bed plate It is provided with the usual opening, the wall of which is indicated at Ma, through which the needle cylinder extends. This bed plate 13 supports a conventional cam ring 33 to which 

